Thereby, Vergil created a new kind of epic poem. Mythology is often used to turn an ordinary story into a miraculous one, the same that happened with The Aeneid.

Moreover, the rapid development of the Roman Empire required not only historical but also ideological explanations. New taste in literature was guided by examples of classical art, so, the epoch demanded the creation of a big epic work, enriched by new social and political content. The poem was meant to become praise to Augustus’s ancestors and ancient regulations, as long as August considered himself a restorer of ancient traditions. As long as Emperor Augustus reckoned himself to Julia’s kin, he became the heir of Gods. According to the official version of Roman origin they were successors of the Trojan people, while the gens Julia descended from Aeneas, the son of Venus. Speaking about the political motives of The Aeneid we should take into account the fact that the emperor was the one who inspired Vergil to write the poem. For Vergil, civil responsibilities were first-priority values that a man should have kept. He was forced to leave her, as he told her in the underworld. But, he argues, without a true marriage, he is sacrificing only his desires by leaving Dido. Though Aeneas also is not indifferent about their parting:Īeneas’s reminder to Dido that they were never officially married suggests, somewhat dubiously, that had they entered into such an ordained commitment he would not leave. In other words, the loss of Aeneas meant the loss of the world for her.

At the same time, Dido’s world got narrowed and became equal to her feelings. Though they share a strong feeling, love is inferior to the public matter in the hierarchy of moral values for Aeneas, who is a hero and a public character.

He has to find a new homeland, while his and Dido’s love is a pure accident. The reasons for his obedience lay in the fact, that Aeneas is a social man, moreover, a statesman his life is a path with a definite aim ahead. Aeneas’ destiny represents the dilemma mentioned above, he has to follow Gods’ will even if his desires do not coincide with the given divine command: he did not want to leave Troy when he came to Dido, he wanted to stay with her then he came to Latinus, wanted to stay there and marry Lavinia.

The aeneid by virgil